Furniture storage unit

ABSTRACT

An ottoman used to organize and store articles in the interior, the ottoman having an access panel to provide access to its interior wherein the access panel is formed by a sidewall of the ottoman. Located in the interior of the ottoman is a configurable organizer system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the invention are directed to a piece of furniture that has multiple functionality, and more particularly, the embodiments of the invention are directed to an ottoman that has a removable top that can be used as a cushion or a tray as well as at least one access wall that provides access to an interior of the furniture for storage.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art ottoman 10 that has a base 12 and a removable top 14. The removable top 14 has a first surface 16 which is shown in FIG. 1 on which is formed a tray. The removable top 14 has a second surface 18 as shown in FIG. 2 opposite the first surface 16 on which is formed a cushion which can be sat upon by a user or used to rest a user's feet. The removable top 14 has two handles 20 formed by fabric loops which a user uses to lift the removable top 14 off the base 12 and flip it to either its first or second surface and replace it on the base. When the removable cover 14 is removed from the base 12, an interior volume 22 is exposed as shown in FIG. 3 which can be used by the user to store items such as throws or pillows, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are perspective views of a prior art piece of furniture.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows an access wall in its open state where it has pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 5 so that it is generally parallel with the bottom.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a furniture where the interior region has a first type of organizational system.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a furniture where the interior region has a second type of organizational system.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a furniture according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a furniture according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered identically. The drawings depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be understood that embodiments shown in drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit scope of the invention as defined in the claims that follow.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. The piece of furniture has a base 112 that includes a bottom (not shown) and four side walls 122 extending upwardly from the bottom. Each side wall 122 has a first end 124 and a second end 126. The first ends 124 of the side walls are coupled to the bottom. An open top is formed by the second ends of at least two of the side walls. The base has an interior region (130, see FIG. 5) defined by interior surfaces of the bottom and the four side walls and an exterior formed by the exterior surfaces of the four side walls and bottom. A removable cover 114 is provided in the open top of the base. The removable cover 114 has a first surface 116 (which is shown in FIG. 4) and a second surface 118 (as shown in FIG. 5). Located on the first surface is a tray and on the second surface is a cushion.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, one side wall forms an access wall 128 and its second end forms a free end and its first end is pivotally coupled to the bottom. FIG. 4 shows the access wall 128 in its closed state where it extends generally upwardly for the bottom. FIG. 5 shows the access wall 128 in its open state where it has pivoted from the position shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 5 so that it is now generally parallel with the bottom. The access wall 128 is provided with some type of pull 132 so that the user can rotate the access wall from its closed position to its open position. The pull 132 can be a swatch of fabric as shown in FIG. 4 or it can be a drawer type pull, for example. In an embodiment, the access wall is secured in its upright position by a friction fit with the adjacent side walls and a top wall 134. The access wall may be held in place by other structures as will be described hereinafter. While the access wall is shown as being hinged 131 at the bottom, it may alternatively be hinged at its top or at its left or right side. In addition, more than one or all of the side walls may be access walls to allow access to the interior of the furniture.

The interior region 130 of the base 112 shown in FIG. 5 is shown empty. In the embodiments as will be described hereinafter, the interior region will be occupied by storage organizational systems. These organizational systems can be built into the interior region and non-removable, or they may be removable so that a user can change the configuration of the storage system depending upon the user's needs.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a furniture where the interior region has a first type 140 of organizational system. In this embodiment, the organizational system includes a plurality of shelves 142 where each shelf has a slot 144 configured to hold a DVD or CD or other type of media. The user can thus conveniently store these items out of view and yet have easy access to them. The shelves are held in place by pegs located in holes formed along the interior surfaces of side walls as is well known and they may be repositioned in the interior region by moving the pegs location to a new hole as is well known.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a furniture where the interior region has a second type 146 of organizational system. In this embodiment, pull-out shelves 148 are built into the interior region. The shelves may have removable dividers 150 that partition the shelves into appropriate configurations depending on what the user wants to store in the tray. Short dividers can be installed so that individual items such as DVDs or CDs, for example, can be stored between a pair of dividers. They can also be removed so that larger items such as books or magazines or remote controllers can be stored on a tray as seen in the back half of the top tray.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a furniture according to another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a different type of closure 160 is provided to hold the access wall in its upright position. The second end of the access wall and the top wall may be provided with a magnetic latch system, hook-and-loop fasteners (i.e., Velcro), snaps, etc., to secure the access wall in its upright position. The closure system may be spring loaded as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art so that the access door is biased to its closed state. A lanyard 162 is optionally provided and it can be provided in any of the embodiments described herein.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a furniture according to another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, two access side walls 128, 128 ² are provided so that the interior region of the base can be accessed from opposite sides of the base. In this embodiment, the interior region may be divided in half by a middle wall 170. Alternatively, the middle wall may be absent. In the portion of the interior region visible in FIG. 9 a shelf 172 is provided. A user can store books, for example in this portion of the interior region. Alternatively, any of the types of storage organizers as described herein may be provided instead. The opposite portion of the interior region, not visible in FIG. 9, can hold any of the types of storage organizers described herein as well.

On another embodiment (not shown) the cover (114 in FIG. 1) is not removable from the base. The interior storage region is accessed through at least one side wall.

While preferred embodiments have been described in detail, it should be apparent that modifications and variations thereto are possible, all of which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A piece of furniture comprising: a base having a bottom and four side walls, each side wall having a first end and a second end wherein the first ends are coupled to the bottom and each side wall extends upwardly from the bottom, an open top defined by the second ends of at lest two of the four side walls, the base having an interior region defined by interior surfaces of the four sides and bottom and an exterior defined by exterior surfaces of the four side walls; and a removable cover that fits in the open top of the base, wherein one of the four side walls is an access side wall that can be rotated from its upwardly position to a generally flat position wherein the flat position it is generally parallel to the bottom wherein the interior region of the base is exposed through the access side wall.
 2. The furniture of claim 1 further comprising rolling coasters coupled to the bottom of the base so that the furniture can be rolled along a surface.
 3. The furniture of claim 1 wherein the removable cover has a first side and a second side, wherein the first side has four side walls coupled along a perimeter of the first side to form a tray.
 4. The furniture of claim 3 wherein the second side of the removable cover has a cushion secured thereto.
 5. The furniture of claim 1 wherein exterior surfaces of the four side walls are covered in leather.
 6. The furniture of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of storage elements located in the interior region of the base and accessible from the access side wall.
 7. The furniture of claim 6 wherein the storage elements comprise a plurality of trays providing storage space.
 8. The furniture of claim 7 wherein the trays can be pulled out from the interior region of the base.
 9. The furniture of claim 7 further comprising a plurality of removable dividers that can be selectively positioned in the trays to divide the storage space of the trays into distinct compartments according to a user's needs.
 10. A piece of furniture comprising: a base having a bottom and four side walls, each side wall having a first end and a second end wherein the first ends are coupled to the bottom and each side wall extends upwardly from the bottom, a top defined by the second ends of at least two of the four side walls, the base having an interior region defined by interior surfaces of the four sides and bottom and an exterior defined by exterior surfaces of the four side walls; and wherein one of the four side walls is an access side wall that can be rotated from its upwardly position to a generally flat position wherein the flat position it is generally parallel to the bottom wherein the interior region of the base is exposed through the access side wall.
 11. The furniture of claim 10 further comprising rolling coasters coupled to the bottom of the base so that the furniture can be rolled along a surface.
 12. The furniture of claim 10 wherein the top is formed by a removable cover.
 13. The furniture of claim 12 wherein the removable cover has a first side and a second side, wherein the first side has four side walls coupled along a perimeter of the first side to form a tray.
 14. The furniture of claim 13 wherein the second side of the removable cover has a cushion secured thereto.
 15. The furniture of claim 10 wherein exterior surfaces of the four side walls are covered in leather.
 16. The furniture of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of storage elements located in the interior region of the base and accessible from the access side wall.
 17. The furniture of claim 16 wherein the storage elements comprise a plurality of trays providing storage space.
 18. The furniture of claim 17 wherein the trays can be pulled out from the interior region of the base.
 19. The furniture of claim 17 further comprising a plurality of removable dividers that can be selectively positioned in the trays to divide the storage space of the trays into distinct compartments according to a user's needs. 